This Alien Life: Privatized Prisons for Immigrantsby Deepa Fernandes, Special to CorpWatchFebruary 5th, 2007In the wake of the September 11th attacks, the U.S. government invoked national security to sweep up and jail an unprecedented number of immigrants. Companies like Corrections Corporation of America and Wackenhut, have reaped the benefits.

High-Tech Healthcare in Iraq, Minus the Healthcareby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchJanuary 8th, 2007Almost four years after the toppling of Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s healthcare system is still a shambles. While most hospitals lack basic supplies, dozens of incomplete clinics and warehoused high-technology equipment remain as a testament to the failed U.S. experiment to reconstruct of Iraq. First in a series of CorpWatch articles.

A Translator's Taleby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchAugust 9th, 2006Goran Habbeb was shot and left for dead by gunmen in Iraq for helping troops in counter-intelligence tasks. He worked for Titan, a military contractor, who supply translators to the military under a profitable multi-billion dollar contract. Almost 200 of their workers have been killed, the highest by far of any contractor in Iraq.

A Proxy Battle: Shareholders vs. CEOsby Kevin Kelleher, Special to CorpWatchJune 13th, 2006Earnest shareholder resolutions presented at company annual general meetings on everything from human rights to executive compensation are routinely shot down in flames. But shareholder resolutions may have an effect, even in defeat.

Stolen for Steel: Tata Takes Tribal Lands in Indiaby Nityanand Jayaraman, Special to CorpWatchMay 24th, 2006The Tata Group, one of India's biggest and oldest multinationals, has taken over tribal land to build an enormous steel plant in Orissa. A clash between the traditional owners of the land and the police has resulted in numerous injuries and deaths, calling into the question the prestigious family-owned company's philanthropic image.

Australia Reaps Iraqi Harvestby Marc Moncrief, Special to CorpWatchApril 4th, 2006United Nations sanctions against Saddam Hussein may have failed to end his regime but they succeeded in enriching both the Iraqi dictator and corporations able to manipulate the scandal-ridden world body's Oil-for-Food program. Among the profiteers was the Australian Wheat Board, a former state-owned monopoly, which funneled over $200 million into Saddam's coffers even as the “Coalition of the Willing” was preparing for invasion.

Baghdad Embassy Bonanzaby David Phinney, Special to CorpWatchFebruary 12th, 2006A controversial Kuwait-based construction firm accused of exploiting employees and coercing low-paid laborers to work in war-torn Iraq against their will is now building the new $592-million U.S. embassy in Baghdad.

Listen to an interview with David Phinney about this article on CorpWatch Radio.

Vedanta Undermines Indian Communitiesby Nityanand Jayaraman, Special to CorpwatchNovember 15th, 2005Vedanta, a fast growing British mining and aluminium production company founded by a billionaire expatriate Bombay businessman, threatens communities in India with environmental degradation and widespread pollution.

Mixing Occuption and Oil in Western Sahara
by Jacob Mundy, Special to CorpWatchJuly 21st, 2005Oklahoma-based Kerr-McGee's contract with Morocco to explore for oil and gain in the contested territory on the Atlantic coast of northern Africa is complicating a 30 year independence struggle.

Barrick Gold Strikes Opposition in South America by Glenn Walker, Special to CorpWatchJune 20th, 2005A proposal to "relocate" three Andean glaciers to mine for gold has local people up in arms. This billion dollar development could destroy a major source of clean water on the border of Argentina and Chile.

Playing Chicken: Ghana vs. the IMFby Linus Atarah, Special to CorpWatchJune 14th, 2005Thanks to the IMF and the World Bank, chicken and other local agriculture staples in Ghana are being replaced by subsidized foreign imports.

'Tis the Season for Shareholder Activismby Jan Frel, Special to CorpWatchMay 4th, 2005Every spring, activists and investors attend annual general meetings to protest and meet face-to-face with CEOs and corporate boards. The goal is to place their agendas -- on everything from the environment to labor practices -- front and center.

Egyptian Asbestos Workers Dying of Cancerby Aaron Glantz, Special to CorpWatchJanuary 13th, 2005Workers at Aura-Misr, a Spanish-Egyptian asbestos company in Cairo, have been laid off since Christmas, after a ban on asbestos took effect in the country. Many of the fired workers have been diagnosed with cancer and they worry that other workers may soon fall ill and die also.

Stalled Case Against ExxonMobil Sees Movementby Jacqueline Koch, Special to CorpWatchJuly 14th, 2004After languishing in the courts for two years, a lawsuit that accuses ExxonMobil of complicity in human rights violations is beginning to move, thanks to the Supreme Court's recent decision to uphold the Alien Tort Claims Act.

Not in Their Backyard
by Jacqueline Koch, Special to CorpWatchJuly 14th, 2004Legal experts, activists, and analysts weigh impact of Supreme Court decision to uphold the Alien Tort Claims Act, commonly used by human rights groups to try cases against U.S. corporations on American soil.

Conservation at All Costsby Shefa Siegel, Special to CorpWatchDecember 22nd, 2003Conservation International is working to protect endangered species in Guyana, but in practice may have fomented conflict between tribes there.

Mapuche Lands in Patagonia Taken Over by Benetton Wool Farmsby Sebastian Hacher and Pauline Bartolone, Special to CorpWatchNovember 25th, 2003To the Mapuche Indians in southern Argentina, the Italian clothing manufacturer Benetton is the newest conquistador in 10,000 years of land struggles in Patagonia.